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TRANSPORTATION
INFORMATION CENTER |
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ABOUT
ROUNDTRIP SIGHTSEEING TOURS
Below is some general information
including but not limited to the pricing mechanism of tour-bus as
one of the charter services licensed to serve the public..
We may be able to shop and
reserve tour-bus Service for you
for any occasion or event; and, we don't charge you anything
for our services, but for the fare you pay for the
transportation. Now, if you have the time, you may shop for
yourself using the directory for your particular area or
community. NOW........
Roundtrip Sightseeing Tours
like tour-buss are
"Transportation Charter Party Carriers of Passengers" - TCP.
TCP-##-(
S
or
A
)
will allow you to
 operate
a "Roundtrip
Sightseeing" Tour Service.
TCP A or S
has no limit to the size of vehicle you may
operate. TCP A is a certificate and may be sold or transferred
to another owner. TCP S is a Permit, and cannot be sold.
Roundtrip allows you to take unrelated parties in the same
vehicle to/from your chosen places of interest and you charge
per person per roundtrip. Roundtrip Sightseeing Tours offered by "Bandit"
operators are dangerous and must be avoided. Remember,
tour-bus Service is a pre-arranged charter service in which
the customer is in control.
REMEMBER,
each tour-bus service offered and or taken is an
arrangement agreed upon by both parties (the tour-bus
service provider and the customer) for a a duration of time
for dollars (as in, $$
per hour) or on the basis of Mileage (as in, $$ per mile);
or a combination of Time
and Mileage depending on your itinerary or
stops (waiting time) you wish to make. They cannot quote or
charge a fixed (flat) fare or charge or per person fare.
And, NOTE that each tour-bus Service is for the use of the
whole vehicle by the one party who chartered the
tour-bus.
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However,
Round-trip sightseeing tours are unique in that charges must
be in terms of "$$ per round-trip per person": all
fares and charges are pre-arranged and there are no
authorized tariffs, but the terms of payment must
always and only be on the basis of a round-trip per
person: you pre-inform customers the points of
interest and the duration of the tour.
NO round-trip
sightseeing is authorized to offer/provide
point-to-point pickup/drop-off service such as
offered by a common carrier (limousine, tour-bus,
livery and or general charter provider); and,
certainly, no charter service provider is authorized to charge
a Flat-rate fee/fare for service;
...that
is a flat-rate service and is absolutely prohibited. |
i.e., no
tour-bus operator must offer services such as
follows:
(say LAX to
Hollywood = $$)
!!
We will show you,
our clients, the FIRST QUESTION TO ASK A CUSTOMER
that wishes to book your services; and, tell you
open secretes about the nature of your license;
i.e., if we helped you get your license. |
Ask the CALIFORNIA PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION (PUC) - License Section ; or call the PUC
at (415) 703-2063. YOU ARE IN CONTROL as you pay for Time or
Mileage. Anyone can use a tour-bus! They
take you directly to your home or business or wherever you want
within the state.
All tour-bus operators with the proper operating authority (license) know
how to quote the fares (charges) based strictly as
described above. Any carrier that charges otherwise
(Licensed or Not) is an illegal (or Bandit) operator; that
is, an operator operating beyond the scope of its
authority, and a possible danger to the public. NOTE, if an operator
ignores one rule he/she is more likely to ignore other safety (or
pricing) rules.
In
California, "share-ride" Shuttles also known as Passenger
Stage Corporations are licensed (granted a "certificate of public
convenience and necessity (CPCN)") to operate at the public's convenience.
A shuttle operator is one has prepared and filed a formal
Application, gone through the rigors of the application process and
has been qualified or authorized by the California Public Utilities
Commission to serve a specific route or operate between specific
points.
All Charter Party
Carriers of Passengers (TCP) are required to post their
License Number in a prescribed manner:
TCP - # - letter designation of
(A) or (B) or (P),
etc, denoting the type of service the carrier is authorized
to provide. Because TCP does not have specific service
points or tariffs they can take you anywhere in the State
and change their negotiable Rates at will prior to each
service: terminate service under inhospitable situations.
For information about
California TCP licenses, you may
contact the PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION (PUC) - License Section
at (415) 703-2063.
Regarding airport shuttle services, you may also call the
airport's "Landside Operations Unit (the department that
controls ground transportation at the airport)" of the
respective airports for safety concerns they might have
about any carrier that serves the airport. With shuttles, Safety and
the proper application of the fares is always of concern: some carriers may risk passenger safety in traffic or
operate uninsured equipment or use unqualified drivers, on
the one hand, or charge fares not authorized in the Tariff,
on the other hand.
This
webpage has been published to assist you and any member of
the public learn more about shuttle services, find and
reserve properly licensed shuttle services, and to
encourage shuttle companies to operate properly and safely.
WE encourage you to make your RESERVATION on this web site; we take
care of all the arrangements and provision of proper service for you for no additional charge to you.
Remember, we help
license some of the best companies that serve the public today:
this company has been formed by a former regulator with public safety and
fare market practices in mind.
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